Patent mapping

ABSTRACT

System and method permit patent mapping. A method may comprise maintaining a database of patent portfolios and a database of patents with each patent stored in the database of patents associated with one or more patent portfolios stored in the database of patent portfolios. A search query may be received associated with a first patent portfolio and the first portfolio may be searched as a function of the search query. Search results may be generate which include one or more patent claims associated with the search query. The one or more patent claims may be mapped to a patent concept.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/107,930 filed Oct. 23, 2008,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made apart hereof.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/494,278, entitled “Patent Mapping,” by Steven W. Lundberg, Janal M.Kalis, and Pradeep Sinha, filed Jul. 27, 2006, which is incorporatedherein by reference; and is further related to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/888,632, entitled “Patent Tracking,” by Steven W. Lundbergand Janal M. Kalis, filed Aug. 1, 2007 which is incorporated herein byreference; and is further related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/710,656, entitled “Patent Mapping,” by Steven W. Lundberg, Janal M.Kalis, and Pradeep Sinha, filed Jul. 27, 2004 which is incorporatedherein by reference and corresponding PCT application PCT/US2005/026768filed Jul. 27, 2005.

BACKGROUND

Tools for identifying patents for a particular purpose such as a priorart search, validity analysis, or a freedom to operate investigation,operate by performing Boolean queries using various search operators.These operators allow for searching by date, terms, document number, andpatent classification, among others. These tools further allow forsearching individual document portions such as a document title,abstract, or claim set.

Other searching tools accept freeform text. Such tools accept a freeformtext block and extract information from the text block deemed mostlikely to return acceptable results. However, such tools are stilllimited to only performing Boolean queries and displaying a list ofresults.

These search tools often provide large numbers of results, most of whichare irrelevant. These tools fail to present results in a manner allowingfor quick relevancy determinations. The presentation also fails toprovide enough detail suggesting how to adjust a search for obtainingonly relevant results. Further, the search tools provide the documentsof the result set in a manner very similar to the traditional paperformat of the documents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a server device, according to an exampleembodiment.

FIGS. 3-8 are data model diagrams, according to example embodiments.

FIGS. 9-15 are user interfaces, according to example embodiments.

FIGS. 16-22 are example generated charts, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 23 is a computer system, according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the present subject matter refersto the accompanying drawings which show, by way of illustration,specific aspects and embodiments in which the present subject matter maybe practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the present subject matter.Other embodiments may be utilized and structural, logical, andelectrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent subject matter. References to “an”, “one”, or “various”embodiments in this disclosure are not necessarily to the sameembodiment, and such references contemplate more than one embodiment.The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope is defined only by the appended claims,along with the full scope of legal equivalents to which such claims areentitled.

The subject matter herein provides systems, software, methods, and datastructures for patent mapping, ranking and rating of patents, searching,and generating visual representations of the patents and patentportfolios to quickly analyze the patents for many reasons including,but not limited to, claim coverage and value. In an example embodiment,a patent portfolio may comprise one or more patents that may or may notbe commonly owned or related. The collection of patent portfolios andpatents may be stored in one or more databases. A patent may belong tomore than one portfolio at the same time. In an example embodiment, theunderlying patents and patent claims included in each patent portfoliomay be categorized by patent concepts (sometimes referred herein asconcepts) such as scope concepts (SC) and technology categories (TC).

In an example embodiment, technology categories are categories thatclaims relate to, but are not necessarily limited to. For example, aclaim to a pulse generator may be put in the technology category“pacemaker”, but not be limited to a pacemaker per se—perhaps the claimmerely says that the pulse generator generates a pulse of certain typethat is useful for pacing, but pacing does not appear in the claim.Hence, the claim relates to the technology category “pacemaker,” but itis not limited to being a pacemaker.

In an example embodiment, scope concepts are concepts that a claim islimited to. This is contrast to technology categories, where the claimmay be mapped to a TC but it not necessarily limited to it. A scopeconcept may defined in a way to give the concept a context that a usercan understand without necessarily having to look at the correspondingclaim language. For example, if the scope concept is “method orapparatus for cardiac rhythm management”, and it is mapped to claim A,then claim A by definition is limited to this application, such that ifa target device does not perform cardiac rhythm management, then itwould not infringe claim A.

In an example embodiment, there are two types of scope concepts: 1) highlevel scope concepts that are like technical categories in the sensethey are broad and general and apply to many claims in a portfolio; and2) scope concepts that are specific to a limited number of claims—forexample all claims in a patent may be limited to a very specificdistinguishing feature, and this feature could be the basis for a scopeconcept.

In some example embodiments, high level scope concepts may be definedprior to mapping, and then assigned as applicable. For example, severalscope concepts like: atrial pacing, ventricular pacing, defibrillationmethod or device, etc, may be defined. Then a mapping team may gothrough all claims in a portfolio and map these scope concepts to claimsthat are limited to these concepts. After the mapping is complete, ananalysis may be done showing how many claims in the portfolio arelimited to each of these scope concepts, and the claims may be presentedfor each SC. This may be useful is disqualify claims that are not ofinterest to a particular target (e.g., if an analysis is being done tofind a claim that covers an alleged infringer). In some exampleembodiments, specific scope concepts are mapped patent by patent or bypatent family. These may enable a person to create one or two scopeconcepts that can be mapped across all claims in given patent, a familyof patents, or across a portion of a patent portfolio. In order toeffectively formulate a scope concept that may be globally useful acrossa patent portfolio, it may be useful to be able to examine multiplepatent claims at the same time even if they are not all in the samepatent or patent family.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system to implement the methods describedherein. Shown is a user 102 and a user device 104. The user device 104may be, for example, a personal computer, mobile phone, or personaldigital assistant. The user device 104 may be a computer system asdescribed in FIG. 17. Users of the system may include specializedpersonnel trained to map patent claims as well as personnel trained toanalyze the resulting claim map. The user device 102 may communicatewith a server device 106 over a network 108 (e.g., the Internet) using avariety of communication means including, but not limited to, wired andwireless communication. The server device 106 may be a computer systemas described in FIG. 17. In an example embodiment, the user 102 requestspatent claims 110 from the server device 106 and transmits conceptmappings 112 back to the server device 106 through the user device 104via the network 108. In various embodiments, one or more softwareapplications are executed on the user device which facilitate theinteractions and data transmissions between user 102, user device 104,and server device 106. Other information needed to complete the methodsdescribed herein may be transmitted between the user device 102 andserver device 106 according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example server device 200. In an exampleembodiment, the server device includes one or more modules, databases,and engines. The various modules, databases, and engines may interactwith each other and may take on the functionality of other modules,databases, and engines. Databases, according to an example embodiment,generally refer to sets of data stored in tables and may be implementedusing a variety of database solutions including Oracle and MySQL.Engines, according to an example embodiment, generally refer to thegeneration of a product/image that is presented to a user (e.g., awebpage). Modules, according to an example embodiment, generally referto functionality or features of the system that a user may invoke. Forexample, the mapping module may provide the necessary logic to create amapping between a concept and a patent claim. According to an exampleembodiment, server device 200 includes an account database 202, a miningmodule 204, visualization engine 206, a web server engine 208, a rankingmodule 210, a patent database 212, a valuation module 214, a trackingmodule 216, a concept database 218, a patent claim database 220, apatent set database 222, a mapping module 224, and an ontology database226.

In various embodiments, the modules, engines, and databases areimplemented in a combination of software and hardware. For example, amapping module can be stored as set of instructions stored on amachine-readable medium. The instructions can be executed on a processorand cause a machine to perform operations related to mapping.Additionally, the visual presentation of data in not limited to enginesand may be done by modules as well. Similarly, engines may containunderlying logic dictating on how each engine functions and interactswith the user, software, and hardware of the system. In variousembodiments, the modules, engines, and databases are combined.

In an example embodiment, the account database 202 includes datapertaining to the different users of the system. In some embodiments,different levels of user are defined. For example, an administratorlevel allows the creation of an ontology (e.g., a collection of patentconcepts and keywords) and mapping of patent claims while an analysislevel user may only mine the map for patent claims. The web serverengine 208 may present webpages to the user via the user device. Thewebpages may include forms and user interfaces for the user to interactwith such that the user may manipulate the underlying data stored on theserver device on one or more databases.

In an example embodiment, databases 212, 218, 220, 222, and 226 storethe underlying data that the server device interacts with and modifiesaccording to user input. The patent database 212 may include informationrelated to all the patents stored in the system such as title, filingdata, assignee, etc. The concept database 218 may store all the conceptsthat have been defined either by the user or automatically by thesystem. The patent claim database 220 may include information related topatent claims including which patent they belong to as well as conceptsthat have been mapped to the patent claims. The patent set database 222may store information on sets of patents that have been defined by theuser. In an example embodiment, a patent set may be defined by exclusionmining (e.g., the set of patents that have NOT been mapped to a certainconcept). The ontology database 226 may store information on a userdefined set of concepts.

The mapping module 224, in an example embodiment, enables a user to mapa concept to a patent claim. For example, the user may create and definea patent concept which is then stored in the concept database. The usermay then send an indication, through the user device, that a patentclaim in the patent claim database 220 should be mapped to the newconcept. The indication may take the form of a type of user input suchas clicking on an interface using an input device. The server device maythen store this mapping in the patent claim database. For example, arelationship between the patent claim and concept may be stored in oneor more of the databases.

The mining module 204, in an example embodiment, allows a user to searchthrough the data stored in the databases to find patent claims ofinterest. For example, a user may wish to find all the patent claimsrelated to a gear used in a bicycle. Rather than having the user definewhat the gear is, the user may indicate to the mining module what thegear is not, by indicating what concepts do not apply (exclusionmining). The mining module may search the entire universe of claims inthe patent claim database, or a portion of the patent claim database,and retrieve the remaining patent claims (those claims that not have theconcept) and present them to the user.

The visualization engine, in an example embodiment, generates reportsand visual depictions of the data contained in a set of claims. Forexample, the visualization engine may generate a spreadsheet with theconcepts in the concept database as rows and the patent claims as thecolumns. Color coding may be used to signify where a patent claim hasbeen mapped to a concept. In some example embodiments, a user of thesystem may add additional data that influences the spreadsheet created.Some example embodiments include the generation of competitor landscape,freedom to operate, product coverage, validity, valuation, white spaceanalysis, and white space claim generation spreadsheets. In variousembodiments, other forms of coding are used such as shading andpatterning.

The tracking module 216, according to an example embodiment, maintainsinformation related to a specific patent, group of patents, or concept.For example, the tracking module may store information related to apatent's prosecution and litigation history such as office actions orclaim amendments. Alerts (e.g., electronic mail) may be sent to a userindicating a change in a patent or patent application.

The ranking module 210 and valuation module 214, according to exampleembodiments, enable the user to provide additional information relatedto patents, patent claims, and concepts that may be used to determine acourse of action such as abandoning a patent or pursing research in aspecific field. For example, a user may indicate a specific concept asbeing key to her business. Further, a lawyer or other trained patentprofessional may provide a ranking for each patent included in herportfolio related to scope, design around protection, and detectabilityeffort. The system may take this knowledge and through the visualizationengine generate a chart that shows the highest ranked patents that alsoinclude her important concept.

Data Models

In an example embodiment, data models are defined to store theinformation related to the patents being analyzed. FIGS. 3-8 illustrateexample data models that may be utilized. These may be defined in anysuitable programming language such as C, C++, Java, Ruby, etc, thatallows the manipulation of data models. In some embodiments, data modelsare referred to as classes and both terms will be used in the followingdescriptions. Further, an object may refer to a specific instance of aclass or data model. As one skilled in the art will recognize, there maybe more than one way to define the models and the relationships betweenthe models. The illustrated models are to be taken only as one way ofimplementing the systems and methods described in this application.FIGS. 3-8, in some example embodiments, provide the lower level detailsof the information stored in databases 212, 218, 220, 222 and 226.

FIG. 3, according to an example embodiment, illustrates data modelsrelated generally to mappable data. Shown are models and relationshipsfor a Patent 302, Mappable Data 304, Patent Specification 306, GlobalPatent Ranking 308, Mapping 310, claim 312, Concept 314, Concept Type316, Patent Inclusion 318, Patent Relation 320, Ontology Relationships322, Ontology 324, Mapping Status 326, and Ontology Concept 328. Eachmodel may contain one or more elements that are defined either by thesystem or a user. Further, as illustrated, some models are related toeach in other in a one to many relationship. For example, an Ontologyobject 324 may be related to many Ontology Concept objects 328.

In an example embodiment, Patent model 302 includes types of informationrelated to a patent including, but not limited to, whether or not it isan application, the number of claims, when it was filed, whatorganization it may belong to, the serial number, and its status. As canbe seen, each piece of information may have an associated class such asa Boolean or string. In some cases, the type is actually another class(e.g, global ranking has a class of Global Ranking). Further shown arethe elements of a data model that relate to another data model. Forexample, example Mapping Status 326, Patent Relation 320, PatentInclusion 318, and claim 312 models all include an element of patentwith a class of Patent. This relationship allows the system to examine aClaim class and determine the Patent in which the Claim is included.

In some embodiments, the Mapping 310 data model defines persistentobjects that define the relationships between the a concept (e.g.,technology categories and scope concept), a claim, and an ontology. Asshown, there are many elements that a Mapping 320 class may include,such as, but not limited to, citations, notes, ontology, concept typeand claim. Further, in an example embodiment, many Mapping objects maybe related to one Ontology object and one Claim object. Thus, if onewere to examine a Mapping object, there would be a relationship definingthe ontology to which the object belongs to as well as the claim towhich it has been assigned. In addition, there may be an integersignifying the type of concept to which the Mapping object belongs. Asdata model Concept Type 316 suggests each type of concept may beenumerated as well as be defined by an integer value. For example, theconcept of scope concept may be given the value of ‘1.’ Also, the“object” element illustrated has an associated class of Concept 314.Accordingly, the Mapping object may be linked to an example concept thathas been defined as “two wheeled transportation.” The mapping operationelement may define the relationship between the cited claim and theconcept. For example, a concept may be directly mapped to a claim. Otherpossibilities are discussed further with reference to FIG. 10.Accordingly, a Mapping object may contain the following information withregards to some of the displayed elements.

-   -   claim: Claim A    -   conceptType: 1    -   object: Two wheeled transportation    -   ontology: Bikes    -   mapping operation: Directly Mapped        In an example embodiment, a Mapping object is created each time        the system receives an indication a concept is to be mapped to a        claim. In an embodiment, an indication may be stored that a        concept is not mapped to a claim.

In an example embodiment, a Concept 314 object is created for every userdefined concept as well as any concept the system may defineautomatically. Each Concept 314 may contain, but is not limited toelements of, conceptType, description, hidden, intelliMapAllowed,keywordLabel, name, organization, and underReview. As discussed above, aConcept 314 object may contain an enumeration of the ConceptType 316object. For example, the conceptType element may have an example valueof “scope concept.” The description element may describe when a conceptshould be applied to a claim or other helpful information relating tothe concept. The intelliMapAllowed Boolean may indicate whether thesystem may automatically apply the concept to other claims included inthe system. For example, a concept type might be “keyword.” Thesekeywords may be verbatim phrases or individual words in the claim. Thus,a user may be able to safely have the system search other claims andfind the same keyword and automatically create Mapping 310 objects forthe keyword and found claims. The intelliMapAllowed may indicate whetherthe system should search automatically for these keywords.

In an example embodiment, the OntologyConcept 328 class only containstwo elements, ontology and concept. An Ontology Concept 328 may becreated to signify the relationship between a Concept 314 object and anOntology 324 object. As shown, an Ontology 324 object may include manyOntologyConcept objects. Also, as shown, a Concept 314 object may belongto many OntologyConcept 328 objects.

Also shown in FIG. 3, is the PatentInclusion 318 object. APatentInclusion Object may include elements of inclusionType, patent,patentSet, ranking, reviewed, and ruleType. A PatentInclusion 318 objectmay be used to signify the relationship between a patent and apatentSet. This relationship is more fully explained with reference toFIG. 4.

FIG. 4, according to an example embodiment, illustrates data modelsrelated, generally, to mining mapped data. Shown are models andrelationships for PatentOpinion 402, IncludedClaim 404,ScheduledIntelliMap 406, PatentSet 408, ConceptExclusion 410,PortfolioDomain 412, PatentSearch 414, PatentInclusion 416,LocalPatentRanking 418, TextInclusion 420, ConceptInclusion 422, andConcept 424 classes. In some embodiments, classes with the same name asin FIG. 3 are defined similarly. For example, Concept class 424 maycontain the same elements as Concept class 314. However, as illustrated,additional functions are included that may operate on the class. Forexample, function “createCopy( )” is illustrated in Concept class 424.

In an example embodiment, the PatentSet 408 class operates as thecentral class for mining. As illustrated, many of the other classesshown relate to the PatentSet 408 class. A PatentSet object may havemany PatentInclusion 416, ConceptExclusion 410, and IncludedClaim 404objects. Also, in an example embodiment, a PatentSet object may havemany ConceptInclusion 422 objects related to it by virtue of thePatentSearch 414 class. Through user interfaces presented to a user anduser input, a Patent Set may be defined. This may be done by a useradding claims manually or by a more sophisticated method involving auser defining which concepts to exclude or include. The various datamodels support an almost endless amount of customization for users ofthe system in the creation of patent sets.

In an example embodiment, the created patent sets may be saved forfuture use, as well as themselves becoming the basis for creating a newpatent set. This may enable a user to efficiently search through anynumber of patents. The system may operate in such a manner that when arequest is made to retrieve patents included in a patent set, the systemresponds by applying the relationships defined by the objects for thatpatent set. For example, the ConceptExclusion objects. This executionmethod may allow newly mapped patents to be included or excluded fromthe patent set with no additional input from a user. Thus, if a userwishes to find the intersection between a patent set related to vehiclesand a patent set related to audio, the most current mapped patentsavailable will be presented. As will be discussed in greater detail withrespect to portfolio mapping, the ability to create patent sets andcombine them may greatly speed up the process of finding common conceptsacross patents.

FIG. 5, according to an example embodiment, illustrates data modelsrelated, generally, to annuity data. Shown are models and relationshipsfor Patent 502, ClaimMappedUser 504, AnnuityInformation 506,PatentRanking 508, ScoringCriteria 510, and Scorer objects 512. In anexample embodiment to further enable a person to quickly analyze a largegroup of patent claims, patents may be given a rating. In an exampleembodiment, only the broadest independent claim in each patent is givena ranking, as the broadest claim will often have the most value. Thepatent claims may be ranked according to multiple criteria, including,but not limited to scope, detectability, and the ability to designaround the patent. In an example embodiment, the ranking information maybe stored in a PatentRanking object and retrieved through the Scorerinterface. Each criteria may be given a weighting depending on theclient's needs. For example, a client may decide that scope is twice asimportant as the other two criteria. Therefore, the formula to rank thepatents may be:

0.5(scope)+0.25(detectability)+0.25(design around)=rating.

Once all of the patents have been ranked, the results may be presentedto the user in a web browser, in the form of a chart, or using any othersuitable display mechanism.

An AnnuityInformation object may include information related toannuities for an issued patent. Depending on the rating and annuityinformation of a patent, a user may automatically let patents goabandoned, a user may be alerted, or an annuity may automatically bepaid. Other example embodiments will be obvious to one skilled in theart.

FIG. 6, according to an example embodiment, illustrates data modelsrelated generally to patent tracking. FIG. 7, according to an exampleembodiment, illustrates data models related generally to products andfeatures. FIG. 8, according to an example embodiment, illustrates datamodels related generally to technology hierarchies.

Portfolio Mapping

FIG. 9 illustrates an example user interface that may be utilized tofacilitate the methods described to map patent claims, according to anexample embodiment. Displayed is the title 902 of a patent portfolio,controls are also illustrated that allow a user to edit to theportfolio, list the patents in the portfolio, “quick rank,” and generatea panoramic claim map. Also shown is the “Default Ontology” 904 beingused. In an example embodiment, “Quick Rank” allows a user to map allthe patent claims in a patent to concepts at the same time. An ontology,in an example embodiment, includes the different concepts available to auser to map to one or more of the patent claims. Further, there is anexample search criteria box 906 which allows a user to specify a searchquery. Included are options to narrow the search by type of claim 908including searching independent claims, dependent claims, or both. Thesearch expression box 910 may allow a user to specify a regularexpression to use as a search query. There is also an option to havekeywords highlighted 912 in the search results. In an exampleembodiment, this may include the searched for keywords or keywords thathave previously been mapped to the claims. Also shown are options tonarrow the search results by technology categories 914 and scopeconcepts 916.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method to map concepts to patent claims accordingto an example embodiment. A user interface such as the one illustratedin FIG. 9 may be used to facilitate this example method. Further, in anexample embodiment, the method may be implemented using the data modelsand server device described above (e.g., server device 106 withreference to FIG. 1). At block 1002, a database of patent portfolios anda database of patents are maintained, each patent stored in the databaseof patents associated with one or more patent portfolios stored in thedatabase of patent portfolios. A database management system may be used(DBMS) for storing and retrieving data from a data store which includesthe database of patents and database of patent portfolios. In someembodiments, the DBMS is a relational database management system(RDBMS). In some other embodiments, the data store includes storing datain a Resource Description Framework Schema (RDFS). In some embodiments,communication with the data store includes using a language such asStructured Query Language (SQL) or eXtensible Markup Language (XML).

In an example embodiment, a database of ontologies may also bemaintained, the ontologies including one or more patent concepts. Asdiscussed above, an ontology may include all the metadata (patentconcepts) that one may wish to map to a patent claim. For instance, theone or more patent concepts may include a technology category. The oneor more patent claims may also include a scope concept, the scopeconcept defining a scope to which a patent claim is limited. Keywordsmay also be used as patent concepts. These may be any term or shortphrase that appears in the claim, exactly as it appears in the claim. Asthese terms are taken from the claims, they may be thought of aslimitations in the sense that if the term cannot be read on an accuseddevice, the claim probably does not cover the accused device. Exampleuser interfaces showing scope concepts in an ontology can be seen withreference to FIG. 11.

In an example embodiment, at block 1004, a search query associated witha first patent portfolio is retrieved. A user of the system may wish tosearch a previously created portfolio of patents. A patent portfolio mayinclude patents that a user wishes to analyze. For example, a portfoliomight include all of the patents for a company ABC Corp (ABC). Aportfolio may be stored and defined as a patent set in the patent setdatabase (e.g., patent set database 222 in FIG. 2) ABC might havereceived information on a potential infringing product. In order to findthe patent claims relevant to the product, ABC may wish to map itsentire patent portfolio and use the resulting mapped portfolio toquickly find the best claims to assert in an infringement lawsuit.However, it may also be useful to map the patents of the allegedinfringer. These patents may also be added to the portfolio as it islikely ABC's patents and the alleged infringer's patents will haveoverlapping subject matter.

The search query may help to narrow down the patent. In an exampleembodiment, the search query many include a regular expression. Forexample, if the search query is “*” all the patent claims in the patentportfolio will be displayed. Boolean expressions such as “car && dog”may also be used. In some example embodiments, an option is included toonly search independent claims, dependent claims, or to search both. Insome example embodiments, the portfolio may further be narrowed by usingpatent concepts that have been included in the current ontology.

FIG. 12 shows an example user interface with example options availableto search by technology category. An example option is presentedallowing a user to search technology categories disjunctively orconjunctively. In an example embodiment, each technology category in theontology is shown to the user with three example options “Direct mappedclaims,” “Direct Mapped or ‘Does Not Map,’” and “Direct Mapped or‘Unresolved.’” These terms will be discussed in greater detail withrespect to block 1010.

FIG. 13 shows an example user interface with example options availableto search by scope concept. In an example embodiment, each scope conceptin the ontology is shown to the user with four example options “Directmapped claims,” “Do not include Direct Mapped or ‘Does Not Map,’”“Direct Mapped or ‘Does Not Map,’” and “Direct Mapped and ‘Unresolved.’”These terms will be discussed in greater detail with respect to block1010.

Referring back to FIG. 10, in an example embodiment at block 1006, thefirst portfolio is searched as a function of the search query. At block1008, in an example embodiment, search results 918 are generated, thesearch results including one or more patent claims associated with thesearch query. Using the search query provided, a query may be formattedas an SQL query or other suitable format to query the underlyingdatabases. Generating the search results may include retrieving patentclaims which include terms from the search query and synonyms of theterms as well as plural versions of terms in the search query. Theresults of the query may then be presented to the user in an exampleuser interface as shown in FIG. 9. Only one patent claim is illustrated,however, more patent claims may have resulted from the search and may beshown simultaneous as to have the ability to manipulate multiple patentclaims. Column headings may include four radio buttons 920 signifyingthe options available for mapping, the matter number, the claim number,the claim text, and other technology categories or scope conceptscurrently mapped to the claim. Because the generated search results aresearching an entire portfolio of patents it may be possible that not allof the claims of a given patent will match to the search query. A trioof numbers 922 may also be displayed for each claim in relationship tothe technology category heading and the scope concept heading. Theserepresent the nature of the relationship between the claim and thetechnology category or scope concept. For example, as illustrated, claim1 has two technology categories directly mapped: “space vehicle” and“Electric Device or Method.” It also has one scope concept directlymapped.

Referring back to FIG. 10, at block 1010, in an example embodiment, aplurality of patent claims are mapped to a patent concept. In an exampleembodiment, in addition to the database of patents and patentportfolios, a database of patent claims may be maintained. The databaseof patent claims may be administered and interacted with using a DBMS asdescribed above. As described more fully with reference to FIG. 3, eachpatent claim may have one or more patent concepts that have been mappedto the claim. As discussed above with reference to narrowing down searchresults, the relationship between a patent concept and a patent claimmay take on many forms. For example, the relationship may be one wherethe patent concept is directly mapped to a patent claim. This mayindicate that a user who looked at the claim made the decision that thepatent claim was in a particular technology category, for example.Another relationship may indicate that a patent concept is not mapped toa patent claim. If a user is sure that a particular claim is not in atechnology category, for example, it may be beneficial for thatinformation to be saved so that the mapping process is not unnecessarilyduplicative.

With reference back to FIG. 9, a user may select one or more patentclaims to map based on the radio buttons displayed. In an exampleembodiment, there are four radio buttons indicating options for theclaim: “Direct Mapped,” “Does Not Map,” “Unresolved,” and “NoOperation.” The first two options are described in detail above. The“Unresolved” radio button may indicate that a user is not sure whetherthe concept should be mapped to the patent claim. This may be helpful incases where the user does not have the legal or technical expertise tomake a decision one way or another. A more senior user may then reviewthe unresolved patent claims en masse at a later time. The last radiobutton may indicate that a user does not wish to have any relationshipdefined between the patent claim and a patent concept. In an exampleembodiment the “No Operation” radio button is selected by default forall the patent claims returned from the search query.

Upon a user indicating a preferred mapping for each patent claim, a usermay further indicate a preference of which category of patent concept tomap. In an example embodiment, there are two categories: technologycategories and scope concepts (e.g., elements 924 & 926 in FIG. 9). Inan example embodiment, a user clicks on the button corresponding totheir preference and this preference is sent to the service device whichdetects the category of concept the user clicked. In response, a userinterface is presented to the user corresponding to his or herpreference. For example, FIG. 14, may be presented.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example search box 1402 and an example searchresults 1404 section. Across the top is an option to add a new patentconcept 1406 (see FIG. 15 for a more detailed look at an example methodto add a patent concept). Other options may include returning to themain mapping screen (e.g. FIG. 9) or canceling the mapping. In anexample embodiment, the search box allows a user to search across anentire ontology for potential patent concepts. Similar to searching forpatent claims, a user may enter a regular expression such as ‘*’ toretrieve all the concepts included in the present ontology. For example,the results of the search 1404 displayed in FIG. 14 only returns“multiple blades.” A checkbox is presented allowing a user to select theconcept 1408. If there is more than one concept displayed a user mayselect more than one of the concepts by selecting the respectivecheckboxes next to the patent concepts. A checkbox at the top of theresults may be selected if a user wishes to select all 1410 of theconcepts returned from the ontology search.

Further example options may be presented to the right of each concept.An option to “modify and map” 1412 may be selected if the user wishes tomodify the concept. This may be useful if a user wishes to broaden theconcept so that it may be mapped to more patent claims. For example, anarrow technology category may have been defined as “power computerspeakers.” Rather than a user defining a new technology category of“passive computer speakers,” the user might decide it makes more logicalsense to only have one technology category titled “computer speakers.”In an example embodiment, the user can safely select “modify and map”and change the technology category to “computer speakers.” This maysafely be done because all “powered computer speakers” are also“computer speakers.” In an example embodiment, every patent claim,regardless of which portfolio(s) it may be included in, will be updatedto reflect the modified concept. Thus, it may not be advisable to narrowa concept without being certain every patent claim in the system adheresto the modified concept. In an example embodiment, a warning may bedisplayed to the user explaining the effects of modifying a concept.

In an example embodiment, an indication of a relationship between thepatent concept and the plurality of claims in the database of patentsmay be stored (e.g., updating one or more databases). This may beaccomplished, for example, by the user selecting the map button asdisplayed in FIG. 14. As discussed above, a user may have selectedmultiple patent claims resulting from searching and may have furtherindicated a preference for one or more patents claims to have conceptsdirectly mapped as well as indicated a preference to have one or morepatent claims have patent concepts not mapped. Thus, in an exampleembodiment, the indication of the relationship may include an indicationthat the plurality of patent claims are not mapped to the patentconcept. In an example embodiment, the indication of the relationshipincludes an indication that the plurality of patent claims are mapped tothe patent concept.

It some example embodiments mapping a plurality of patent claims to apatent concept includes defining the patent concept. Defining the patentconcept may be initiated by a user clicking on the example “add_new”button 1406 as displayed in FIG. 14. An example user interface that maybe presented to the user in response to this selection is illustrated inFIG. 15. Two example options may be presented, “Save” and “Cancel.” Alsoshows are two input text boxes, “Concept Name” and “Description.” Theconcept name may be the actual concept and may be, for example, either atechnology category or a scope concept. A user may indicate whichcategory of patent concept the new concept belongs using a pull downmenu. The user may further wish to add the concept to an existingontology by selecting one or more ontologies as presented in FIG. 15.

Report and Chart Generation

As described, the system may allow the generation of visualrepresentation of the data included in the databases to further maximizethe value of concepts to patent claims. In some example embodiments thecharts may be interactive. In some example embodiments, a method togenerate the charts includes formulating a query to send to one or moredatabases, the query requesting whether or not a set of patent claimshave been mapped to a set of patent concepts. An additional query may besent to the databases to determine additional metadata about the patentclaims including, but not limited to, the filing data and owner of eachpatent. Ranking data may be received for each patent concept retrievedfrom the databases. In an example embodiment, the system generates arelationship between a ranking, a patent concept, and a patent claim anddisplays the relationship to the user in the form of a chart. Theranking data may be stored in the database or may be received from auser. In some embodiments, ranking data may include integer values ofdisparate range (e.g., 1-10 or 1-100) alphabetical letters (e.g., agrading scale of A-F), or any other means to characterize a claim orconcept.

In an example embodiment, a competitor landscape chart may be generated.An example simple competitor landscape chart is shown in FIG. 16. Shownis the title, patent number, filing data, total claims, each independentclaim, and owner of each patent in a patent set. The patent set mayreflect the patents owned by the competitors of a company requesting themap. The scope concepts that have been mapped to the patent claims inthe patent set may be displayed as rows in the chart. If a scope concepthas been mapped to a patent claim than the intersecting cell between thepatent claim and concept may be filled in, checked, change color,patterned, shaded or otherwise have an indication of the mapping.Additional columns may indicate the competitor that first introduced aconcept as well as the date it was introduced. This may be determined byexamining each patent that has a concept mapped to at least one of theclaims and examining the dates of each of the matching patents. Inaddition, the scope concepts may be sorted by frequency. Each competitormay be assigned a color or other designation such that a user mayquickly determine which company owns each patent as well as whointroduced what concepts first.

In an example embodiment, a product coverage chart may be generated. Anexample product coverage chart is shown in FIG. 17. As with FIG. 16,relevant patent information for patents included in the patent set isdisplayed. Also, displayed is a column titled “Has Feature?” This columnmay have values ranging from one to three signifying the degree to whichthe product includes the concept. For example, a value of three may meanthe product definitely includes the concept and a value of one means theproduct definitely does not relate to the concept. Based on thesevalues, the chart may dynamically update and determine values for theclaim coverage and product coverage rows. For example, SC 1 and SC 5both have a rating of ‘3’ and are present in all of the claims of patent“Title 1.” Thus, “Title 1” has a claim coverage of ‘3’ and a productcoverage value of “potentially applies.” It is only “potentiallyapplies” because it cannot be known for certain whether the patentapplies but only that that SC 1 and SC 5 are present in the claims.However, because scope concepts always describe limitations, if a claimhas two scope concepts mapped, as shown with respect to the claims inpatent “Title 2,” the lowest ratings score will control the claimcoverage. As shown, SC 6 is described as not being present in theproduct and the “Title 2” claims have been mapped to SC 6. Therefore,regardless of the fact the SC 3 has also been mapped and the product hasthis feature, the “Title 2” claims cannot apply to the product as theyare at least limited to SC 6.

This chart may also allow interactivity with a user. This interactivitymay include the user changing the “Has feature” values and the chartautomatically updating the claim coverage and product coverage rows. Forexample, if the SC 1 rating was changed to ‘1,’ the claim coverage valueof the patent “Title 1” may change to “1” signifying the patent does notapply to the product. In some embodiments, any changes that result frominput from the user are highlighted on the chart. This may allow a userto quickly see the effects of potential changes to product coverage.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example freedom to operate chart. In an exampleembodiment, a freedom to operate chart allows a user to quickly seewhich patents may be necessary to obtain licenses from or purchase toproduce a product, sell a service, etc. FIG. 18 is similar to FIG. 17except for in place of a “Has feature?” column there is a “NeedFeature?” column The values in this column may represent whether or not,and to what extent, a user believes a feature is necessary in his or herproduct. A ‘3’ may indicate that the scope concept is necessary, a ‘2’may indicate the scope concept is wanted, but not needed, and a ‘1’ mayindicate the scope concept is not needed. In an example embodiment, the“claim status” row shown in FIG. 18 reflects whether a patent in thepatent set needs to be licensed or purchased in order for the user tooperate freely. As with the product coverage chart, the lowest value inthe “need feature” column controls. Thus, patent “Title 1” is not neededeven though SC 1 is mapped to all the claims and the user has indicatedthe feature is necessary. Similarly to above, a user may interact withthe ratings to see in real-time the impact of removing or addingfeatures in terms of the number of patents needing to be licensed orpurchased.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example claim/patent valuation chart. In anexample embodiment, a claim/patent valuation chart allows a user to seewhich patents/claims may be necessary to license, etc., to maximize thevalue of a currently owned patent or patent claim. FIG. 19 is similar toFIG. 17 except the values in the ratings column reflect whether or not ascope concept is necessary to maximize a patent's value. The values inthis column may represent whether or not, and to what extent, a userbelieves a feature is necessary in maximize a patent's value. A ‘3’ mayindicate that the scope concept is necessary, a ‘2’ may indicate thescope concept is wanted, but not needed, and a ‘1’ may indicate thescope concept is not needed. In an example embodiment, the “claim value”row shown in FIG. 19 reflects whether a patent in the patent set needsto be licensed or purchased in order to maximize the user's patent. Aswith the product coverage chart, the lowest value in the rating columncontrols. Thus, patent “Title 1” is not important, even though SC 1 ismapped to all the claims and the user has indicated a high value for SC1. Similarly to the above charts, a user may interact with the chart bychanging the ratings to see in real-time the effects on patents in thepatent set.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example validity chart. In an example embodiment,a validity chart allows a user to see the overlap between a patent and apatent set. FIG. 20 is similar to FIG. 17 except the values in theratings column reflect whether or not a feature is shown in the patentin question (the patent to which the patent set is being compared). Thevalues in this column may represent whether or not, and to what extent,a user believes a feature is present in the patent in question. A ‘3’may indicate that the scope concept is shown, a ‘2’ may indicate thescope concept is possibly shown, and a ‘1’ may indicate the scopeconcept is not shown. In an example embodiment, the claim status rowshown in FIG. 20 reflects the extent to which the patent in question andthe patents in the patent set overlap. Unlike the product coveragechart, if two scope concepts are mapped to a patent, but containdifferent ratings, the feature rating becomes “some overlap”. Thus, eventhough SC 5 has been rated as not shown and mapped to patent “Title 1,”SC 1 is also mapped to the patent but is shown and therefore there issome overlap between the patent in question and patent “Title 1.” Afinding of “complete overlap” may indicate to a user that a patent orclaim is completed anticipated. As above, the user may interact with thechart by changing the ratings to see in real-time the effects on patentsin the patent set.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example white space analysis chart. In an exampleembodiment, a white space analysis chart allows a user to see thefrequency in which scope concepts appear in a patent set. In someembodiments there are scope concepts that are in no patent claims. Thechart may be color coded to allow a user to quickly ascertain the leastfrequently used scope concepts. FIG. 22 illustrates an example whitespace claim generation chart. In an example embodiment the generatedchart illustrates suggested combinations of unclaimed combinations ofexisting scope concepts as well as suggested combinations of new scopeconcepts with existing scope concepts.

Computer System

FIG. 23 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system 2300 within which a set of instructions forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein may be executed. In alternative embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in aserver-client network environment or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The machine may be a PersonalComputer (PC), a tablet PC, a Set-Top Box (STB), a Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a networkrouter, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated,the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection ofmachines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets)of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein. Example embodiments can also be practiced indistributed system environments where local and remote computer systemswhich are linked (e.g., either by hardwired, wireless, or a combinationof hardwired and wireless connections) through a network both performtasks. In a distributed system environment, program modules may belocated in both local and remote memory-storage devices (see below).

The example computer system 2300 includes a processor 2302 (e.g., aCentral Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) orboth), a main memory 2304 and a static memory 2306, which communicatewith each other via a bus 2308. The computer system 2300 may furtherinclude a video display unit 2310 (e.g., a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)or a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)). The computer system 2300 may also includesan alphanumeric input device 2312 (e.g., a keyboard), a User Interface(UI) cursor controller (e.g., a mouse), a disc drive unit 2316, a signalgeneration device 2318 (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device(e.g., a transmitter) 2320.

The disc drive unit 2316 includes a machine-readable medium 2328 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions 2317 and datastructures (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more ofthe methodologies or functions illustrated herein. The software may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 2304and/or within the processor 2302 during execution thereof by thecomputer system 2300, the main memory 2304 and the processor 2302 alsoconstituting machine-readable media.

The instructions 2317 may further be transmitted or received over anetwork (e.g., the INTERNET) 2326 via the network interface device 2320utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g.,HTTP, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)).

The term “machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a singlemedium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken toinclude any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying aset of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause themachine to perform any of the one or more of the methodologiesillustrated herein. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordinglybe taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, andoptical and magnetic medium.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

1. A computer implemented method comprising: maintaining a database ofpatent portfolios and a database of patents, each patent stored in thedatabase of patents associated with one or more patent portfolios storedin the database of patent portfolios; receiving a search queryassociated with a first patent portfolio; searching the first portfolioas a function of the search query; generating search results, the searchresults including one or more patent claims associated with the searchquery; and mapping the one or more patent claims to a patent concept. 2.The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:maintaining a database of ontologies, the ontologies including one ormore patent concepts.
 3. The computer implemented method of claim 2,wherein the one or more patent concepts includes a technology category.4. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the one or morepatent concepts includes a scope concept, the scope concept defining ascope to which a patent claim is limited.
 5. The computer implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein mapping a plurality of patent claims to apatent concepts includes defining the patent concept.
 6. The computerimplemented method of claim 1, wherein mapping a plurality of patentclaims to a patent concept further includes: maintaining a database ofpatent claims, the database of patent claims including the one or morepatent claims; storing an indication of a relationship between thepatent concept and the one or more patent claims in the database ofpatent claims.
 7. The computer implemented method of claim 6, whereinthe indication of the relationship includes an indication that the oneor more claims are not mapped to the patent concept.
 8. The computerimplemented method of claim 6, wherein the indication of therelationship includes an indication that the one or more patent claimsare mapped to the patent concept.
 9. The computer implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the search query includes a regular search expression.10. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generatingsearch results includes retrieving patent claims which include termsfrom the search query and synonyms of the terms.
 11. A systemcomprising: a database of patent sets and a database of patents, eachpatent stored in the database of patents associated with one or morepatent sets stored in the database of patent sets; and a web serverengine configured to receive a search query associated with a firstpatent set; a mining module configured to search a first patent set as afunction of the search query and generate search results, the searchresults including one or more patent claims associated with the searchquery and stored in a patent claim database; a mapping module configuredto map the one or more patent claims to a patent concept.
 12. The systemof claim 11, further comprising: a database of ontologies, theontologies including one or more patent concepts.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the one or more patent concepts includes a technologycategory.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more patentconcepts includes a scope concept, the scope concept defining a scope towhich a patent claim is limited.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein themapping module is further configured to define the patent concept. 16.The system of claim 11, wherein the mapping module is further configuredto store an indication of a relationship between the patent concept andone or more patent claims.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein theindication of the relationship includes an indication that the one ormore patent claims are not mapped to the patent concept.
 18. The systemof claim 16, wherein the indication of the relationship includes anindication that the one or more patent claims are mapped to the patentconcept.
 19. The system of claim 11, wherein the mining module isfurther configured to generate the search results by retrieving patentclaims which include terms from the search query and synonyms of theterms.
 20. The system of claim 11, wherein the mapping module is furtherconfigured to: construct a mapping object, the mapping object includingdata detailing the relationship between the one or more patent claimsand the patent concept; and store the mapping object in the patent claimdatabase.